Aug. 23

　　It may well have been the only area Nicolas Sarkozy was unable to deftly manage during his first 100 days as French president: the size of his love handles. Unflattering proof of that was supplied on Thursday — Sarkozy's 100th in the Elysée. The weekly magazine l'Express published the original of a photo rival Paris Match had run two weeks earlier, showing the shirtless Sarkozy canoeing with his son during their Wolfesboro, New Hampshire vacation. The Express shots, however, revealed the Paris Match pictures were retouched to eliminate unsightly flab hanging over the presidential shorts.

　　The proud and athletic Sarkozy probably wasn't thrilled at the way his slight lateral protrusions invaded the media examination of his first, remarkably successful 100 days in office. However, he'd probably be wise to consider it a relatively harmless harbinger of more troubling events likely to await him during his second 100 days. Up until now, Sarkozy has impressed the French and world public with his relentless pace in attacking challenges both at home and abroad. He has smoothly guided through several contested legal and economic reforms in France; he's meanwhile staged diplomatic coups by brokering an agreement on European Union construction, engineering the freeing of seven Bulgarian medics held by Libya, and improved Franco-American by establishing a warm personal relationship with President George W. Bush. But despite that excellent start, coming months may be considerably more turbulent for both France and its president.